Regional Fisheries Management Organizations Research Articles

Innovation in the quest for compatibility: Interplay of jurisdiction and allocation in the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation

This paper explores how the legal obligation that management measures for straddling stocks in the high seas and for areas under national jurisdiction must be ‘compatible’ is interpreted within the forum of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, by considering the example of the ongoing conflict over allocation of jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi) managed by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO). To do so, the paper presents the innovative framework through which to realise compatibility set forth by the treaty instituting SPRFMO, the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South Pacific Ocean, together with the practice implementing these provisions as seen in the annual SPRFMO jack mackerel management measure. This measure has evolved as coastal States Chile and Ecuador have consented over time to apply the measure in the areas under their national jurisdiction, and as it has been used to urge coastal State Peru to ensure measures under its area of jurisdiction are compatible with those in the SPRFMO measure. Methodologically, the paper draws from a mix of doctrinal analysis of international treaties alongside document analysis of SPRFMO Commission meeting reports, management measures, and reports of the SPRFMO Review Panel, enriched through interviews with persons with experience of the workings of SPRFMO. Ultimately, the paper grapples with the challenges in interpreting and applying the legal obligation of compatibility within the political context of allocation decisions by a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation such as SPRFMO.

Integration of spatial justice into navigating the combat on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in ocean and coastal areas

As a geographical dimension of justice, spatial justice is characterized by the interplay of social justice and heterogeneous spaces, including the ocean. Despite the generous contribution of ocean to humankind, concerns over aquatic spatial justice are disproportionately lacking. Among the core disruptors of ocean justice, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing imposes a major threat to global fisheries governance. The synthesis of spatial analysis and justice perspective can generate new insights to help understand and potentially address IUU fishing. To examine the spatial (in)justices concerning IUU fishing, we first propose a novel tripartite framework that envisions space as a form of opportunity, society and rights to externalize its socio-environmental implications. Then we integrate productive, distributive and consumptive justices to examine the spatial variations of IUU stakeholders along the fish value chain, and use stakeholder analysis to investigate spatial powers and conflicts regarding both a micro scale of fish communities, and a macro scale of states (coastal state, flag state, port state and market state) and supernational players (regional fisheries management organizations and marine protected areas). It is discovered that certain regions provide greater spatial benefits that stimulate IUU behaviors; IUU misconducts cause spatial differentiation and spatial deprivation that disrupt social orders in fish communities; space can empower stakeholders’ inclusive and proper engagement into the place-based management process against IUU fishing. Since the spatialized vision has been increasingly highlighted in marine fisheries management, it is suggested to intervene in the world ocean by leveraging spatial knowledge, managing spatial conflicts and facilitating spatial action, in order to promote spatial justice and better combat IUU fishing globally.

Policy pathways to reduce disproportionate burdens in tuna fisheries

AbstractThe United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement requires states to recognise the special requirements of developing countries and to ensure that conservation and management measures do not place a disproportionate burden on developing countries. The aim of this article is to assess what policy arrangements are required to reduce the identified disproportionate burden. We developed a policy pathway that would allow members of tuna regional fisheries management organisations (tRFMOs) to strengthen their efforts to meet their duty to share conservation burdens more equitably. This pathway consists of policy options that were developed by using policy analysis, which is an innovative approach that provides actionable outcomes that can be used by tRFMO member states. Despite the global attention to reducing disproportionate conservation burdens, developing states are still suffering. The results of this article provide novel and timely policy options that have the potential to reduce the conservation burden carried by developing states.

The challenge of assessing the effects of drifting fish aggregating devices on the behaviour and biology of tropical tuna

AbstractFishers have intensively used drifting fish aggregating devices (DFADs) over the last three decades to facilitate their catch of tropical tunas. DFADs increase purse‐seine efficiency, potentially increasing tuna fishing mortality. They could also have impacts on tuna natural mortality and reproductive potential, and assessing the consequences of their presence at sea on tuna populations is a challenge. The use of DFADs results in a major increase in the number of floating objects, which are spatially heterogeneous at sea. To date, no converging scientific results exist regarding the effects of DFADs on the large‐scale movements and behaviour of tuna, mainly due to the difficulty of disentangling the respective roles of DFADs and environmental factors. Some biological indices show that tuna condition is lower when associated to a floating object than in a free‐swimming school. However, it is not clear whether this is the cause or the consequence of the association nor if it has long‐term effects on individuals' fitness. Further scientific progress requires (i) the collection of time series of indicators to monitor habitat change, individual behaviour, individual fitness, and population dynamics and (ii) experimental studies to identify the underlying behavioural and biological processes involved in associative behaviour. The extent of the modification of the surface habitat by the massive deployment of DFADs and the current uncertainty of the possible long‐term consequences on the individual fitness and dynamics of tuna populations argue for the need for increased awareness of this issue by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations regulating tuna fishing.

Fisheries observers: An overlooked vulnerability for crime and corruption within the global fishing industry

Human fishery observers play an important role in monitoring fish stocks, providing scientific data upon which management organizations set applicable fishing limits and quotas to maintain sustainable populations. At-sea observers, however, sometimes sustain harassment from crews that object to being monitored, and at least one observer has disappeared or died under suspicious circumstances while underway every year since 2009. This exploratory paper examines inherent vulnerabilities within the monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) framework that nations and regional fisheries management organizations (RFMO) have adopted to support sustainable fish stocks. As rational actors, perpetrators of observer harassment, assault, and murder likely do so to manipulate observers’ monitoring role in the MCS framework to conceal illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and other criminal activities. Qualitative analysis of reporting on observer harassment and suspicious disappearances over the past 15 years indicates the following institutional, situational, jurisdictional, and physical conditions appear to contribute to observer safety issues—privatization of fishery observer programs, crime convergence on fishing vessels, conflicting maritime jurisdictional considerations, and harsh conditions endemic to the remote maritime environment. While recorded suspicious observer deaths are too few to draw general conclusions, most occurrences befell observers working for tuna RFMOs in the Pacific Ocean, and a disproportionate number of deaths were observers from Kiribati and Papua New Guinea. Alternative surveillance approaches such as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) produce limited results without human observers. Future policies that could contribute to observer safety include applying lessons learned from international efforts to address maritime transnational organized crime and providing observers personal communications and safety equipment to directly connect with search and rescue entities if under duress.

The MSC approach for developing harvest strategies and harvest control rules for Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs)

Well-designed and robust harvest strategies are a key governance tool to achieve long term sustainability of target stocks. In some fisheries, however, such as those governed by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), the development and adoption of harvest strategies can be challenging. Seafood eco-labelling programs, such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), can be one way of incentivising fisheries to advocate for the adoption of harvest strategies and harvest control rules (HCRs). Here we illustrate the process through which the MSC Fisheries Standard was recently revised to guide the development and implementation of harvest strategies tested using management strategy evaluation, with particular focus on RFMOs. We identify three case studies that highlight the challenge of harvest strategy and HCR adoption: Indian Ocean skipjack tuna fisheries, Western and Central Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries, and North-East Atlantic mackerel fisheries. We discuss the problem statement that highlighted the challenges present when applying the previous MSC Fisheries Standard to stocks managed by RFMOs, and how the revised requirements within the MSC Fisheries Standard aim to overcome those challenges. These revised requirements provide an operational framework within the MSC Fisheries Standard for how RFMO-managed fisheries can implement ‘state-of-the-art' harvest strategies through management strategy evaluation. When applied by MSC certified fisheries, the new requirements are expected to contribute to delivering positive change with respect to implementing robust harvest strategies and HCRs across RFMOs, particularly in cases where there is a strong interest in the market benefits of certification.

Bycatch in drift gillnet fisheries: A sink for Indian Ocean cetaceans

AbstractIn 1992, the UN banned the use of large‐scale pelagic driftnets on the high seas (UNGA Resolution 46/215). Three decades later, however, drift gillnets remain one of the primary fishing gears in the Indian Ocean, accounting for approximately 30% of tuna catches in this ocean. Recent estimates indicate that several million small cetaceans have been killed in Indian Ocean gillnets over the past few decades. National agencies and the regional fisheries management organization charged with managing tuna fisheries, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, have yet to effectively document the bycatch of small cetaceans in these fisheries. Here, we review current information on cetacean bycatch in Indian Ocean drift gillnets and propose potential solutions to this important conservation issue.

The implementation of ACAP Best Practice Advice to mitigate seabird bycatch in fisheries: Issues and options

The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) is a multilateral agreement which strives to conserve albatrosses and petrels by coordinating international activities to mitigate threats to their populations. One of the major threats that seabirds face is fisheries-induced mortality, or bycatch. In recognition of the serious nature of this problem, ACAP established a Seabird Bycatch Working Group (SBWG) to advise on actions that will assist in the mitigation and reduction of seabird interactions with fisheries. The SBWG regularly examines the range of measures available that can minimise bycatch and has developed “best practice advice” (BPA), a suite of tools and methods for trawl and longline fisheries. This BPA has been widely promoted by ACAP Parties and others within jurisdictions and at Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and CCAMLR other over the last 10 years. To assess the levels of implementation of ACAP’s BPA for industrial fisheries we employed both a qualitative and semi-quantitative multiple method research design that comprised content analysis of documents and meeting reports from ACAP meetings, a review of current seabird conservation measures of all tRFMOs that had members which were also ACAP parties, and by conducting a survey that asked 13 questions in relation to the uptake and adoption of ACAP BPA. We confined our analysis to pelagic longline and trawl fisheries within the jurisdictions of both ACAP parties and non-parties. Our research identified a number of key gaps in the uptake of the BPA guidelines in these fisheries. Complete uptake of BPA was poor by ACAP Parties both within their jurisdictions, and in high seas fisheries managed through RFMOs. For Parties, the level of uptake was difficult to assess accurately because reporting to the Agreement has thus far been inadequate for this purpose. Uptake of BPA in high seas fisheries by non-parties and RFMos was also poor and unlikely to improve while ACAP Parties are unable to demonstrate commitment to their use in all national fisheries. The study findings provided advice and recommendations on addressing impediments to uptake that could lead to improved management of seabird bycatch in commercial fisheries.

Multiple lines of evidence highlight the dire straits of yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean.

Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) are highly valued pelagic fisheries target species. Regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) are the principal mechanism that manage yellowfin tuna fisheries. Determining changes in population abundances is crucial for effective conservation and management. We use multiple methods for monitoring biomass trends and evaluating the status of yellowfin tuna in each ocean basin and show how additional, multiple lines of evidence can enhance our understanding of the conservation and exploitation status of this species. Our analysis of regional biomass trajectories and Catch-MSY++ assessments corroborate the findings of the most recent RFMO stock assessments suggesting yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean are in critical condition, while the Eastern Pacific yellowfin tuna population shows the lowest levels of exploitation. These results are supported by fisheries-independent data from baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS), showing that the Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna population is the least common, least abundant, and smallest across all oceans. Our findings support previous claims of systematic and widespread overfishing of yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean and thus confirm calls to reduce current fishing levels to ensure the long-term viability of the species.

Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing in Southeast Asia: Trends and Actors

executive summary: This essay identifies trends and actors involved in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in two of Southeast Asia's regional seascapes (the South China Sea and the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape), explores the political and socioeconomic factors that enable IUU fishing, and offers recommendations to governments and other stakeholders. main argument IUU fishing threatens the food, ecological, and economic security of coastal communities in Southeast Asia's seascapes. The region is home to incredible marine biodiversity that supports commercially important fish stocks. However, IUU fishing, poor fisheries management, and bad governance—coupled with environmental degradation and a lack of monitoring, control, surveillance, and enforcement capacity—leave these stocks in a precarious position. The clandestine nature of IUU fishing can also attract crimes of convergence, including forced labor and trafficking of humans, arms, drugs, and wildlife. To counter IUU fishing, national governments in Southeast Asia should take steps to improve cooperation, build cohesiveness, and share data and relevant information with each other and with regional organizations. Likewise, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and regional fisheries management organizations should take a greater leadership role to facilitate data and information sharing between Southeast Asian governments. policy implications • Cooperative and joint stock assessments in the South China Sea and the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape by governments, scientists, NGOs, and other stakeholders, with a focus on transboundary stocks, would significantly improve the monitoring and management of fisheries. • To bridge gaps in enforcement capacity, fisheries enforcement authorities should work with nontraditional partners, including local communities and trusted nations in the Indo-Pacific, such as the U.S., Australia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. • Southeast Asian coastal states should work together to settle remaining maritime boundary disputes they have with each other and develop a cohesive regional bloc that strengthens their collective commitment to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and efforts to combat IUU fishing. • National governments and law enforcement should increase their capacity and technical capabilities to stop labor and human rights abuses on the water and in seafood processing facilities by working with NGOs, survivors, and other relevant stakeholders with expertise in the field.

The Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery: Back from the brink

At the turn of the century, the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna stock (BFT-E) appeared to be heading towards collapse. In 2006, a recovery plan was introduced with the purpose of restoring the stock. Stock size is now increasing. In fact, the stock is now believed to be sustainably harvested. The fishery is managed by ICCAT, a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO). Several authors question the effectiveness of RFMOs. This paper analyses how cooperation has been achieved as well as the stability of the current cooperative management regime. A main conclusion of the analysis is that RFMO management of BFT-E is very successful. This brings hope for the management of high seas fisheries worldwide.

Quantifying longline bycatch mortality for pelagic sharks in western Pacific shark sanctuaries.

Marine protected areas are increasingly touted for their role in conserving large marine predators such as sharks, but their efficacy is debated. Seventeen "shark sanctuaries" have been established globally, but longline fishing continues within many such jurisdictions, leading to unknown levels of bycatch mortality levels. Using public data from Global Fishing Watch and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, we quantified longline fishing within eight shark sanctuaries and estimated pelagic shark catch and mortality for seven pelagic shark species. Sanctuary mortality ranged from 600 individuals (Samoa) to 36,256 individuals (Federated States of Micronesia), equivalent to ~5% of hypothesized sustainable levels for blue sharks to ~40% for silky sharks, with high mortality levels in the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands. Unsustainable mortality rates were exceeded for silky sharks in two sanctuaries, highlighting a need for additional stock assessments and implementation of bycatch reduction measures. Big data integration workflows represent a transformative tool in fisheries management, particularly for data-poor species.

Engaging artisanal fishers and processors from coastal states into RFMO discussions lead to agenda shifts toward science-based management. The case of the Jumbo Flying Squid fishery and the role of CALAMASUR

Artisanal and small-scale fisheries and the livelihoods of entire fishery dependent communities often rely on the catch and processing of straddling fish stocks. These stocks, as they expand to Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ), are usually subject to different management regimes —within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) by coastal states and by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) in the high seas. While RFMO decisions can impact the livelihoods of entire coastal communities, artisanal and small-scale fishers are rarely engaged in regional decision-making fora. The South Pacific Jumbo Flying Squid (JFS), is mainly fished by artisanal operators in Chile, Peru and Ecuador, along with a growing Distant Water Fleet operating within ABNJ. In view of the lack of attention placed by the South Pacific RFMO (SPRFMO) to JFS management in the high seas, in 2018, the most important artisanal fishing cooperatives and processors from Chile, Peru and Ecuador, joined together to promote improvements in RFMO policies towards a sustainable use of the resource. In this paper we review the impact of the Committee for the Sustainable Management of the JFS in the South Pacific (CALAMASUR) in influencing the RFMO agenda. We conclude that CALAMASUR has influenced the SPRFMO agenda by triggering an increased focus on squid as well as by driving attention to the group's 5 priority improvement areas. Results suggests that resource users' engagement in RFMO governance can help advance RFMOs towards meeting the objectives set in their founding arrangements. The paper calls for improving RFMO governance by developing co-management mechanisms that enable effective participation of artisanal and small-scale fishers from coastal states in decisions affecting their livelihoods.

Potential cooperation of RFMOs for the integrity of MCS: Lessons from the three RFMOs in the Asia-Pacific

Enhanced monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) vessels is key to sustainable fisheries. This study examined relevant conservation and management measures (CMMs) in three regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) of the Asia-Pacific to identify their challenges. We focused on two CMMs: vessel monitoring systems (VMS) and IUU vessel lists. We also conducted two qualitative analyses to gain an in-depth understanding of registered vessels, including the fishing capacity of member states in the three RFMOs and the relationships between the fishing capacity and catch of flag states. Consequently, we identified several challenges, including VMS data gaps and difficulties in applying sanctions to different IUU entities. While these challenges may be common across RFMOs, there are still limited inter-RFMO cooperation to address them. Also, our quantitative analyses revealed that coastal developing states with limited capacity have a high number of recorded vessels and that a large fishing capacity (especially that of large distant water fishing nations) does not necessarily indicate a large catch. Our analyses highlight the need to improve vessel management capacity and ensure the accuracy of vessel related information. Overall, our findings indicate the need for collaborative work among RFMOs in the form of, for example, a formal communication platform, which would provide RFMOs opportunities to promote knowledge or technology transfer. Inter-RFMO cooperation can be particularly useful for the youngest RFMO managing the North Pacific as its enhancement of CMMs is essential to achieve the integrity of MCS for IUU vessels in the Asia-Pacific.

Supporting regional co-operation in the South China Sea with an initial assessment of the data-limited skipjack tuna fishery

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) requires coastal states of semi-enclosed seas, like the South China Sea (SCS), to coordinate in the management and conservation of marine environments and living resources, specifically highly migratory trans-national stocks. One of the world’s top five fishing grounds, sovereignty disputes continue to bedevil joint fisheries management in the SCS. To develop new norms and standards for regional cooperation, and to support parallel domestic fisheries policymaking, scientists from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam overcame political constraints and data limitations, to develop a Common Fisheries Resource Analysis (CFRA) of skipjack tuna (SKJ). A valuable highly migratory species SKJ is fished extensively by SCS states, but regionally, was previously, unassessed. Applying Length-Based Spawning Potential Ratio assessment to evaluate catch size compositions within a Weight of Evidence framework, we conclude fishing targeted at adult stocks would probably be sustainable, but for the continuing intensification of fishing for juveniles. Fishing pressure is apparently eroding SCS food webs and serially depleting local stocks. We conclude, domestic policies need to be developed to halt the continuing expansion of fishing fleets, and reduce fishing pressure, particularly on juvenile fish. The challenge of policy development and implementation requires the support of international frameworks, like Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), to regularise cooperation between government and non-government scientists of coastal states The existing Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) could provide that framework, unfortunately, intensifying geopolitical competition makes that extremely unlikely.

Management of multispecies resources and multi-gear fisheries: The case of oceanic tuna fisheries in Vietnam

The collapse of many marine fisheries is widely believed to result from mismanagement, which typically focuses on managing a single target species. The objective of this study is to assess the optimal management strategy for multispecies resources and multi-gear fisheries, with a specific application to oceanic tuna fisheries in Vietnam. We utilize the Monte Carlo method (CMSY) and Bayesian State-Space (BSM) approach to evaluate the stock status of skipjack tuna (SKJ) (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin tuna (YFT) (Thunnus albacares), and bigeye tuna (BET) (Thunnus obesus) in Vietnam’s sea waters. Additionally, we establish reference points for tuna fisheries by utilizing bioeconomic models and tuna fishing data from longlines (LL), gillnets (GN), and purse seines (PS) for the period of 2000–2019. The findings reveal that SKJ and YFT stocks are overexploited, while the BET stock is not overfished in Vietnam’s sea waters, even though there have been warnings of overfishing in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. The tuna fishing effort has exceeded sustainable fishing effort, and the current effort of PS and GN fisheries should be reduced to attain optimal stock and harvest levels. It is also necessary to implement policies that shift fisheries from the current unsustainable situation to a situation where fishing effort corresponds to the reference points. This paper offers a useful foundation for devising a suitable management plan for the sustainable management of tuna fisheries, particularly for non-members of the regional fisheries management organizations.

Developing a science-based framework for the management of drifting Fish Aggregating Devices

Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) are man-made floating objects deployed by fishers to aggregate tuna and facilitate their catch. Currently, more than half of the global tropical tuna purse-seine catches occur at FADs. The fast development of the purse-seine fisheries operating on drifting FADs (DFADs) has raised concerns regarding their impacts on tuna populations, on non-target species like sharks, as well as on the pelagic and coastal habitats. Consequently, the management of DFAD fisheries is a priority for all tuna regional fisheries management organizations. Due to the little availability of science-based advice to support management decisions, resolutions on DFADs have been mainly based on precautionary principles. In this study we propose a science-based framework for the management of DFADs, relying on indicators and operating models. A set of models and indicators that help evaluate the ecological impacts of DFADs is presented, considering the case study of DFAD fisheries management in the Indian Ocean. The objective of this framework is to assess and predict the effects of DFADs on coastal and pelagic ecosystems, in order to support and/or evaluate past, present and future management actions.

The epitome of data paucity: Deep-sea habitats of the Southern Indian Ocean

Vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are protected from bottom-fishing impacts in international waters by UN resolutions through Regional Fishery Management Organizations. VMEs include deep-sea benthic taxa whose life-history traits make them vulnerable to disturbance. Conservation measures for VMEs require regulatory frameworks informed by biodiversity maps. Here we evaluate biogeographic patterns of VME biodiversity of the Southern Indian Ocean to understand conservation avenues for the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) management organization. We synthesised knowledge on the distribution of deep-sea benthic taxa and explored the quality and quantity of available data. Next, we explored how taxa are structured into bioregions using biogeographical networks. We found astounding Wallacean and Linnaean shortfalls within SIOFA's area, which is virtually devoid of distributional data. Across the entire area, results suggest that only 48 % of the expected deep-sea taxa has been sampled at most, and most sampled cells are inadequately sampled. Yet, our bioregionalization analysis identified multiple bioregions, some only observed within SIOFA's area. Whilst the Wallacean and Linnean shortfalls are so important for VMEs that they severely impede to make adequate maps for conservation planning, results suggest that SIOFA hosts a unique faunal composition that must be safeguarded. Predictive approaches to compensate for these shortfalls exist but will likely be insufficient and uncertain. Within SIOFA's area, there is no satisfying solution to cope with the data shortfalls. Yet, biodiversity maps are a global responsibility. This study makes a call to invest in biodiversity inventories in this region to promote informed conservation decisions.

Global prevalence of setting longlines at dawn highlights bycatch risk for threatened albatross

Longline fishing kills over 160,000 seabirds annually, with bycatch in these fisheries contributing significantly to the widespread, global decline in albatross populations. One of the most effective ways to reduce this bycatch is for pelagic longliners to set their hooks entirely at night, when albatross are least active, and setting at night is recommended in some areas of the ocean by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations. To develop a global dataset of where and when longliners actually set their hooks, we apply machine learning to four years of GPS data of the global longline fleet (~5000 vessels). Our data reveal the vast footprint of longline fishing: over 40 % of the ocean is, at least one time during a year, within 30 km of a set, the distance within which an albatross can detect a vessel. On a given day, about 1.5 % of the ocean is within this distance of a set. Almost all of these sets were during daylight hours, with only 3 % of sets occurring entirely at night. In regions with threatened albatross species, night setting is more common (4–9 %), but it is much lower than suggested by on-board observer programs, highlighting the limitations of current monitoring. Furthermore, in albatross habitat, vessels more often set their lines during dawn hours when these birds are most active and bycatch risk is highest.

What would Article 5.1 of the 2022 WTO Ministerial Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies accomplish?

The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies adopted in June 2022 is potentially a step forward for ocean sustainability. Yet, its success in removing fisheries subsidies contributing to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and overfishing more generally, will depend on its scope, its effective interpretation, and broad implementation. Here we focus on Article 5.1, which, in its narrowest interpretation prohibits fishing subsidies in areas not covered by Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs) but in its broadest interpretation prohibits subsidies for any unregulated fisheries in the high seas. This study finds that only ∼1.35% of the high seas are not spatially covered by at least one RFMO, and most of that area are frozen parts of the high seas with little to no fishing. This means that if Article 5.1 is interpreted to mean the area of the high seas not managed under RFMOs, then the effect of Article 5.1 will be minimal or non-existent even if the article is fully implemented. Many RFMOs, however, are only mandated to regulate a few species, such as tunas. Much of the potential impact of Article 5.1 thus could rest on the definition of the ‘competence of a relevant RFMO,’ which we argue should be defined based on both area and species of competence. To make the Article meaningful in terms of removing harmful subsidies that impact the sustainability of high seas fish stocks, additional clarifying provisions to Article 5.1 to reaffirm that it applies to both unregulated areas and species outside of the competence of relevant RFMOs are needed.